The Elder Son

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BBC Radio 4 FM

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Drama: The Elder Son (Part 2)

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The Elder Son (Part 2)

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BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, The Elder Son (Part 2)

An elaborate hoax goes wrong on a cold Russian night.

After a wild night out and with nowhere to sleep, two tricksters have conned a family that one of them is their lost lost elder son. Now they must live with the consequences.

By Alexander Vampilov
Translated from Russian by Jan Butler
Adapted for radio by Tom Wainwright

It's the cold Russian winter and two tricksters needed shelter for the night after having missed the last train home. They concocted an elaborate lie that involved one of them posing as the long lost elder son of a local family. Improbably, the lie worked but now they find it impossible to extricate themselves. 

The Elder Son (1967) by Alexander Vampilov is a classic of Russian theatre and has been adapted in two parts for BBC Radio. 

During his lifetime, Vampilov was considered the hero of the 'new wave' of Russian dramatists and regularly compared to Anton Chekhov. His plays present a devastating and hilarious portrait of life in Brezhnev's Russia. At one time, The Elder Son ran in 44 theatres simultaneously in the Soviet Union. It was also filmed several times. Tragically, Alexander Vampilov died at the age of 34 following a boating accident in Lake Baikal.

Volodya . . . . . . Stewart Campbell
Silva . . . . . Ian Dunnett Jnr
Sarafanov . . . . . Tony Turner
Nina . . . . . Elinor Coleman
Vasya . . . . . Aaron Gelkoff
Natasha . . . . . Lauren Cornelius
Mikhail . . . . . Hasan Dixon

Music arranged and performed by Ian Dunnett Jnr.

Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko

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